Over the past 20 glorious years, the Fire Mountain has played a huge hand in converting non-mountain bikers into deeply passionate ones. We've seen it a thousand times and are sure to see it thousands more. All that we've learned over two decades of being avid mountain bikers goes into this great riding hardtail mountain bike. A light, durable, versatile aluminum frame that's efficient and quick, with components that balance affordability and great function. Set the trail ablaze, young Skywalker.
Strengths: great bike will take anything you throw at it and the aluminum frame is great!
Weaknesses: breaks are very strong and you need to make shure not to hit the front breaks when your going to fast.
other than that its awsome
Bottom Line:
I bought my bike 10 days ago on craigslist its my first real mountain bike and i love it. I would recomend ths bike to anyone who wants to get in to bikeing. The bike is very versital and is great in town and on the dirt. yesturday i rode my bike in to town i rode it about 20 miles and not soar at all very very very comphy bike!
Submitted by
rmazza1
a All Mountain Rider
from Denver, CO
Date Reviewed: February 27, 2012
Strengths: Incredibly well spec'd. Kona has made this a point for the past few years, if they didn't have the money to test all of their products, they will make sure to out spec their competitors bikes in the same price range. Frame is strong as hell! They make sure to use 7000 series aluminum, so it just wants to have rough riding thrown at it. The Rock Shox Dart fork is ok enough for the bike, I would have liked to see a tora, but what can you expect to get with paying under 700? Brakes are much better than I expected them to be. Will be a pain to work on, especially with the cotter pin, but such is life, they stop and got some gusto in them for the price.
Weaknesses: Overlooks what customers commonly overlook. The wheels are pretty weak and crappy and are drilled for schrader, which I never have schrader tubes hanging around, or tubes hanging around for that matter. I have not done anything harsh on this bike. I use it light trail riding and commuting around on in the winter here in denver. Curb hopping has apparently done a number on these wheels and are out of true. The seatpost stays put in the frame, but the rail clamp is weak! I crank it down with my wrench, and 5 rides later the saddle has slid the entire way back. Saddle is not for me, but I am a bit hard to fit, so I guess it happens. Bottom bracket sucks. Frame might be too stiff..... get a comfy saddle if you plan on hanging out on this bike on the trails for a few hours, trust me.
Bottom Line:
Well spec'd, crappy wheels, crappy seat post. Swap out at least the seat post immediately. Replace the wheels if you plan on doing more intense trail riding, until then, be thankful you don't have cantilevers or v-brakes and learn to true your wheels once a month depending on use. Tires can stay, the geax are better than I expected them to be.
For what I use this bike for, mainly commuting and having fun hardtailling on some trails, it excels unquestionably. I wouldn't take this bike with these components where I take my Fuel EX, but once I swap out the components, I would love taking it around some technical stuff.
5 chilis for value, because you won't find a better spec'd bike in this price range, and 4 for overall because they tried cutting corners where customers don't think about.
I bought this bike in the spring after years having ridden various department store bikes and finally settling for a quality ride. So far, I am very happy with my purchase. It is a good quality MTB. It is solid, performs well in all conditions, and has served me well on and off road.
If you are a racer, you will undoubtedly need to upgrade parts but I'd say that it is great for the weekend warriors such as myself. I will undoubtedly upgrade the derailleurs in the next year or so since the stock ones aren't great but they will do for now.
This is a great entry level MTB that won't break the bank and will serve you well.
Bike Setup: Time X-Roc S ATAC Pedals, otherwise stock.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Rbrown
a Weekend Warrior
from Vancouver, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: October 7, 2011
Bottom Line:
I am not a bike nut but love the single track trails and stick mainly to blue runs. I love this bike for what I do and have had no problems with it up till now. I have had to replace the back tire spokes as a bit of corrosion caused them to break easily. But for me this bike is fantastic, good on the road, open trails and single track
Submitted by
JoeVella
a Weekend Warrior
from Malta
Date Reviewed: April 6, 2011
Strengths: the 2011 version is an Aluminum bike with dual disc brakes, great features for the price, Rockshox fork. have used it for a month cannot complain, i love this bike. it's my first bike, using it 3-4 times a week (about 100 miles a week), for some easy trails, commuting etc. would definitely recommend. not sure about other users saying the fork bottoms out or is crappy, i've jumped about a meter with it and the fork didn't max out, if you're going to be doing more than that this might not be the bike for you. i'm sure my experience and confidence will be the limiting factors for quite a while, not the bike parts. i weigh 77kg
Weaknesses: none that i can tell from a month of use
Bottom Line:
Highly recommended for beginners like me, bike weighs about 30Lbs (14kg)
Submitted by
bennyt223
a Cross Country Rider
from New Paltz, NY, USA
Date Reviewed: March 31, 2011
Strengths: Smooth ride, Disc Brakes, great shifting. Good components.
Weaknesses: Front Shock (Rock Shox Dart 1) doesn't give a lot of cushion.
Bottom Line:
Great bike that I can ride almost anywhere. Great value for the price. Perfect entry level mountain bike that can advance with you skill. Good bike for riding around town or campus as well. I ride on carriageways, around town, and single tracks. Great all around bike.
Submitted by
konaman1
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Fe NM USA
Date Reviewed: February 14, 2011
Strengths: Awesome intro mtb. Nice tight ride, good weight for downhill stretches, light enough to not bonk on long uphills. Smooth shifting all the way thru.
Weaknesses: Stock pedals; I upgraded to Shimano SPDs. Grips are weak, need upgrade. Tires (Schwable) are a bit heavy on the stock ride. Saddle a tad weighty; upgraded to a Vetta.
Bottom Line:
Highly recommended for the beginner to mid-experienced rider. Great value, pretty plush off the floor.
Similar Products Used: Had a Fisher Hoo-Koo-e-Koo. Lighter, faster, but the FM is a great re-start ride.
Bike Setup: Stock except for above.
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Submitted by
B1gwhite
a Cross Country Rider
from Zionsville,Indiana,USA
Date Reviewed: August 9, 2010
Strengths: Great beginner bike, shox, brakes, wheels, and frame.
Weaknesses: Pedal broke in a week, randomly shifts or doesn't shift (wear and tear possibly), and tires are crap.
Bottom Line:
Great bike lots of fun, great quality, and a couple minor issues. Good bike but you should probably replace the tires and pedal soon after purchase and also watch your gears before they get too damaged. Still using this 3 and a half year old bike.
Submitted by
Crash(epicwin)
a Downhiller
from Colville Washington
Date Reviewed: May 30, 2009
Strengths: It's a very sturdy, indestructable bike, with a alright stock setup.
Weaknesses: The weakness is the brakes(the tend to loosen during long downhill sessions), the shocks(very gunky,wobbely,sticky and loose)
Bottom Line:
This is an amazing bike for learning on, but shouldn't be taken to the next levels. Its best feature is the frame, so if you swap everything else out,you have a good setup...
Bike Setup: 2005 fire mountain standard exept for shocks and tires. Switched out the shocks for RockShox Boxxer. Switched tires to Specialized Chunder DH
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
dftstyles
a Weekend Warrior
from Cerritos, Ca, USA
Date Reviewed: April 11, 2009
Strengths: Everything...but...
Weaknesses: Stock tires and no turnkey lock
Bottom Line:
Super great bike, but stock tires are in need for immediate changes.
Submitted by
Tibursio
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: January 27, 2008
Strengths: Super strong frame, Paint job, Kona, Wheels, Looks good
Weaknesses: Chainrings, Pedals, Tires, Rotors
Bottom Line:
People say the wheels are a weakness. I disagree, I'm 235 lbs, my last two bikes the wheels would come out of true after a week of high speed curb jumping. I am rougher on this bike and after three months the wheels were still perfect. I only had to replace them because I was flying down the sidewalk and an SUV turned in front of me. Needless to say broadsiding an SUV at decent speeds my front wheel & seat got destroyed as they would on any bike. His insurance paid for the entire bike though =D. After the wreck the frame is in perfect condition along with all the other components. Previously I laid the bike over on some black ice, one of the pedals was torn off easily. I ride daily to and from work so the majority of my riding is in the city, though I pedal hard and ride fast, jumping any curbs that may be in my way, it still doesn't make sense that my outer chainring folded after just a month in those conditions. (I hadn't even had a chance to hit a good trail) So therefor I have to list that as a weakness and bump my overall rating down to 4... Still love Kona though. Also my rotors before the accident seemed to be a little warped, maybe I just use my breaks too much when I'm in the city or maybe I'm just picky and everything needs to be perfect for me...
Bike Setup: Kona Fire Mountain, RaceFace Evolve DH Crankset, Azonic Outlaw Wheels, Azonic Hot Seat Saddle, Planet-X Clingon 2 Pedals
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Zak
a Cross Country Rider
from Montreal
Date Reviewed: September 23, 2007
Strengths: Looks great. Smaller frame sizes for guys like me. Comes equiped with good overall gear, but all very very low end.
Weaknesses: Everything breaks! Shocks, brakes, chain, pedals, gears need continual tuning, tires warp. Be very gentle with this one. Kona is simply trying to entice the buyer with what looks good but in the end, this product should be avoided unless you only want to ride it on Sundays to buy ice cream and look cool.
I have had better endurance and performance from a Supercycle or department store bikes. For the price buy a Brodie, much better.
Bottom Line:
Avoid it if you want to do real mountain biking. For casual city riding and jumping curbs, there are better and cheaper choices.
Submitted by
Jacob Scheid
a Weekend Warrior
from Illinois
Date Reviewed: March 3, 2007
Strengths: Good frame (so I am told); great geometry--for me; a good fit for someone who is just getting into the sport; disc brakes--even though they are *ahem* not exactly the best--they work better than v-brakes any day; sturdy, if low-end, fork.
Weaknesses: Well, the low end parts...but since one is able to buy a single major part (take your pick)for the price--I can't complain about that.
Bottom Line:
Great bike for the price. Will be upgrading more components and (hopefully) racing it on a low level this summer. Then maybe will upgrade to a nicer XC racer if time and $$ permit. But great starter bike/frame.
Similar Products Used: Micargi: (never purchase--in my defense--i didn't know what i was doing). Raleigh M60? frame: (I still like and own that frame, and it will probably get the old parts from the Kona--if my brother doesn't snatch them first).
Bike Setup: Stock except for Crank Bros Candy SL's and XT derailleur. Oh, and the new Marzocchi MX Pro ETA/TAS that I haven't gotten yet.
